Page 450 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

terminating in an elegant pattern, is draped over
the figure's rounded shoulders. The left hand hangs
down, holding on to one end of the scarf; the right
arm is half-raised. The bodhisattva's upper torso is
bare; he wears a long dhoti, tied at the waist with an
elegantly knotted sash.
Paint was applied to the statue in three layers:
first a white base, then a flesh color, and lastly, the
other colors. The details of the face are particularly
skillfully executed, creating a remarkably lifelike
countenance: black was used to outline the upper
part of the eyebrows, then the eyebrows were
painted in sapphire blue. The upper parts of the
eyes were drawn with ochre, fading to flesh color
below the eyebrows. Sapphire blue was used to
delineate the edges of the vermilion lips. The dhoti's
latticelike pattern of cinnabar diagonal rectangles,
is framed in inlaid gold with a pattern of lines,
triangles, and rhomboids. Several of the figure's
characteristics — in particular, the hair ornaments
and the sloping shoulders — resemble those of
dated Eastern Wei bodhisattvas found in the
Qingzhou area. XM/AD

i The lotus-shaped base of the statue is not original.

449 | B U D D H I S T S C U L P T U R E FROM Q I N C Z H O U